The Host
by Jacen200015
Summary: Obi-Wan is on a simple, year long, surveying mission with Qui-Gon, Xanatos, and Bruck but unknown to Obi-Wan something awaits them on the planet. A thousand year old mystery is about to be uncovered. A centuries old enemy revealed. R
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Obi-Wan walked down the ramp of the ship into the bright sunlight and squinted as his eyes adjusted to the light. Snow covered the landscape and in the distance was a massive mountain. He closed his eyes and opened them again, but the view was the same. "Xanatos, did Qui-Gon say anything about weird climates on this planet?"

"No, why?" Xanatos asked, coming up behind him.

Obi-Wan pointed toward the mountain. "Look, there is not a speck of snow on the mountain but everything else around here is coated with snow." He pulled his cloak tighter around him.

Unhooking a pair of binoculars that hung on his belt, Xanatos surveyed the mountain. "You're right. No, Qui-Gon certainly did not say anything about this." He hooked his binoculars back onto his belt and shifted the pack on his back. "That does give us a place to start though. We'll set up base camp five miles from the ship and then get an early start in the morning."

Obi-Wan nodded and started walking toward the mountain. The cold air bit at his exposed skin and his breath froze into a white mist in front of him. They had landed in the middle of a clearing, the nearest tree looked to be several miles away. Obi-Wan stopped at a small mound of snow and used the Force to blow the snow away revealing a miniature green tree, its trunk only as thick as his thumb with its highest point reaching his knee. "What do we know about the climate?"

"Qui-Gon thinks the snow season has just begun here. His first survey showed a very lush, warm, climate on this continent. Did you read his reports?" Xanatos asked.

"No, I didn't. I figured that if I'm to be bored, I might as well have as little information as possible before coming so I won't get bored as fast."

"And what would you rather be doing?" Xanatos asked.

Obi-Wan shrugged, "Anything but this."

"Well you better get used to it Obi-Wan. We have another eleven months and twenty five days of survey work to do before we return to the Temple. Just be glad this is a rotational assignment. We won't be assigned another survey project for ten years after this one." Xanatos responded.

"How long will the survey of the moons and the space around the planet take?"

"Oh, maybe two months, if the moons are uninhabitable and there are no out of the ordinary areas of space. After your Master and Bruck are done surveying up there they will come down and join us." Xanatos smirked and patted Obi-Wan on the shoulder. "At least you won't be cooped up on a ship for two months."

Obi-Wan's lips twitched into a grin. "Yes, it is a good thing I was sick the day we were supposed to leave. How did you convince Qui-Gon to take Bruck with him anyway?"

Xanatos fixed the hood of his cloak as a sudden gust of cold wind pushed against the hood. "Because he likes doing the space survey and last time we were on a surveying mission we did the space survey first before joining the second team on planet. Unfortunately the space survey took six months to complete because of an unusual section of space and some anomalies with the planet's sun. So I told him afterwards that if I I'm training a Padawan by the time we go surveying together again, he'll take my Padawan on the survey mission." Xanatos shrugged, "So you being sick wouldn't have changed anything."

Obi-Wan scanned the horizon. The sky was a deep shade of blue with no clouds in sight. The snow was recent. He scanned the snow in front of him as he walked, checking to see if there were any animal tracks. A few minutes later he stopped in his tracks and knelt down to examine some paw markings. "I found our first animal track."

Xanatos knelt down beside him and took out his datapad. He used it to take pictures of the sample and then recorded a couple of notes on his datapad. "Good eye, Obi-Wan." Xanatos praised as he stood up.

Obi-Wan was silent, standing tall and erect as he listened with his ears and with the Force. "It's quiet here, but there is an undercurrent of tension." He closed his eyes and stretched out with the Force to discover the source of the tension. After a few moments he opened his eyes. "It's gone."

"Any idea what direction?"

Obi-Wan pointed toward the mountain. "It came from there."

Xanatos rubbed his chin in thought. "An animal hunting perhaps?" He shivered and he began to walk. "Come on, we still have a ways to go."

By nightfall they had established camp and after eat a warm meal and sending their initial report to Qui-Gon, they went to bed. Obi-Wan laid bundled under his blanket, the privacy sheet dividing the small room and trapping the heat in the shelter. He pulled the blanket over his head and rested his head on his arms. Sleep tugged at his eyelids and within minutes he was asleep.

_Help me!_ The cry rang through Obi-Wan's dreamless sleep, jerking him awake. He gasped, eyelids flying open, his heart beating fast. He stretched out with the Force for Xanatos' presence and found him deeply asleep. He checked the bond with his master and sensed that he too was peacefully sleeping. Brushing it off as an overactive imagination, he fell back to sleep.

Outside the shelter a pair of pale green eyes stared intently at the structure, and then, was gone.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Wake up, Obi-Wan. We have a long day ahead of us." Xanatos called as he poured tea into two cups.

Obi-Wan rubbed the sleep from his eyes and stretched. Straightening his clothes, he emerged from the shelter to see Xanatos stoking the campfire. "Good morning. Any word from my Master?"

Xanatos handed Obi-Wan a bowl of shretmeal and a spoon. "Yes. Qui-Gon is as baffled as we are. The ship scanners have found no shield or any type of barrier that would keep snow from accumulating on that mountain. He did find that the heat level in that area is above freezing."

"Volcanic activity perhaps?" Obi-Wan queried as he sat down on a mat and scooped his spoon into his food.

"Maybe, we'll find out soon enough." Xanatos finished drinking his tea and started to eat his shretmeal.

Obi-Wan watched the sun's slow ascent in the horizon as he ate his breakfast. The sun's rays rushed through thin wispy white clouds, turning the clouds into shimmers of orange and purple against the dark blue sky.

Xanatos and Obi-Wan finished their breakfast and in an hour had packed what they would need and continued their trek to the mountain.

A couple of hours into the hike they stopped for a rest and to munch on some ration bars.

"There are a lot more animal tracks here. I recognize some of them from earlier." Obi-Wan said and took a big bite out of his ration bar.

Xanatos finished chewing and swallowed his food before speaking. "They're attracted to the warmth the mountain is providing. We still haven't heard any animals though."

Obi-Wan took a sip from his water canteen and looked at Xanatos. "My water is almost frozen again."

"It'll warm once we get to the mountain. I want to conserve our heating pellets." Xanatos told him.

Obi-Wan ate the last of his ration bar and put the trash in his pack before lifting the pack onto his back. He stilled where we was as he sensed again tension coming in the direction of the mountain. "Do you sense that?"

"What?" Xanatos said as he lifted his pack onto his shoulders and joined Obi-Wan.

"Tension, coming from the mountain." Obi-Wan said, almost in a whisper.

Xanatos shook his head. "I'm not sensing anything."

Obi-Wan frowned in puzzlement. "It was there, I felt it. It is almost as if something is waiting for us."

"We'll meditate on it once we get to the edge of that mountain. We still have about a hour trek ahead of us."

Obi-Wan nodded, casting his anxiety into the Force. Maybe it was the simplicity of this year long mission that was making him jumpy. Or even the absence of animal sounds and running machinery. Meditation would not be a bad idea.

They reached the edge of the mountain an hour later and felt instant relief as the cold melted away from them and was replaced by welcomed warmth. They sat down on the soft, lush grass, grateful for the reprieve.

Xanatos and Obi-Wan took that time to meditate, to release any anxiety into the Force and to center themselves.

After an hour and a half of meditation, Obi-Wan looked up at the mountain that was covered with trees and flowers. He could hear birds screeching in the distance, chattering of small mammals and the occasional roar of a beast hunting its prey. There was also the sound of water trickling from a brook somewhere. He looked back at Xanatos who had a serious expression on his face.

"Something is not right about this." Xanatos muttered, even as he began taking samples of the dirt and grass.

"I'm going to check out where the source of the water is." Obi-Wan laid his pack on the ground and went to investigate. He pushed back his hood and continued to round the circumference of the mountain until he came to a small rippling brook. He removed a water tester from his belt and took a sample of the water. A small drop of water splashed onto his hand and he jumped back in surprise and stared at his hand in astonishment. The water was hot.

"A hot spring? That may explain why this area is so warm and humid if there is more than one hot spring here." Obi-Wan thought out loud and then looked on the screen of the water tester to see the results. "This is promising. Above average mineral content, 102 degrees Fahrenheit, non volcanic source." Obi-Wan pulled out his datapad from the pocket of his cloak and began typing some notes and then took a few pictures of the spring from various angles.

"What are you doing here?"

Obi-Wan spun around towards the voice and looked up at a rock that jutted out the side of the mountain and saw a girl about his age sitting atop the rock. The girl's copper hair fell straight down, disappearing behind her shoulders and her eyes were the palest green he had ever see. She wore a dark gray cloak and her skin was a sun kissed tan.

"I'm helping to do a survey of the planet." He stepped forward. "Who are you? I thought there was no one else on this planet except my friend and I?"

The girl grinned and leapt down off the rock, her slender form landing a few feet from Obi-Wan. "This is the home of my ancestors. At some point they all left to go to our present planet and I want to discover what made them leave and if it's possible for us to start a colony here." She held out her hand, "My name is Cerasi Mara Etida. My friends call me Cerasi."

Obi-Wan shook her hand, a smile coming to his lips. "My name is Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi. My friends call me Obi-Wan."

"Obi-Wan." Cerasi let the name roll around on her tongue. "That's a strong name."

"And you have a very pretty name, it sounds like a flower."

Cerasi cheeks colored. "Yes, it does doesn't it?" She turned around and looked up at the mountain. "Is your survey purely educational or is it to determine whether or not to start a colony here?"

"Mainly educational." Obi-Wan responded.

"Good." Cerasi turned back to look at him. "Perhaps we can work together, compare notes. There is a lot of area to cover."

"That is a good idea. We have a team in space surveying around the planet, they should be joining us down here in a couple of months so any extra help is appreciated." Obi-Wan answered. "Come on, I'll introduce you to Xanatos."

Cerasi followed after Obi-Wan, her steps as quiet as Obi-Wan's on the rich, dark, ground.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Cerasi is the property of Jude Watson.

Please read and review. :) I know this is slow going but it will speed up. :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Xanatos looked at Obi-Wan and Cerasi as Obi-Wan finished recounting the events of the past hour and then spoke after Obi-Wan was done. "Obi-Wan, can I speak with you…privately."

Obi-Wan nodded and smiled at Cerasi. "Have a seat, we won't be gone long."

"Obi-Wan!" Xanatos called from beyond the campsite.

Obi-Wan hurried after Xanatos and they walked for five minutes before stopping next to a fallen log and sitting down.

"Having her along with us is a bad idea." Xanatos began.

Obi-Wan gaped at him. "Why not? She probably knows this area better than we do. We can complete this survey a lot quicker with her help."

Xanatos ran his hand through is black hair. "For one thing these surveys are supposed to be kept quiet with no outside interference."

"Yes, but the Council rotates the teams and it's always a different place." Obi-Wan responded.

"True, but we mustn't be quick to accept help. Don't you find it odd that she is here by herself?" Xanatos asked.

Obi-Wan shrugged. "I don't sense any danger from her. Besides, maybe she's by herself because no one wanted to go with her."

Xanatos covered his face with his hands and groaned. "Don't you find her story to be odd? About her people, all of them, leaving this planet?"

"No, there can be many possible reasons." Obi-Wan retorted.

"Your hormones are clouding your judgment." Xanatos muttered under his breath.

Obi-Wan shot a glare at him. "My hormones are perfectly in control. Why do you have to be so mistrustful?"

Xanatos placed his hands on his knees and looked at Obi-Wan. "What about the tension you sensed as we approached the mountain?"

"I don't know, I haven't sensed any tension coming from the mountain since we arrived. The tension never lasted very long though." Obi-Wan said with a shrug. "Maybe I was imagining it."

"That could be but the fact is that we don't know the history of this planet—"

"Which is why it will be good to have Cerasi along with us while doing the surveying." Obi-Wan interrupted.

Xanatos let out a long sigh and stood up. "Very well, but be on your guard." He looked down at Obi-Wan. "Let your Master know about this tonight when we send the next report to him."

Obi-Wan stood up and looked into Xanatos eyes. "I will, don't worry."

Xanatos watched Obi-Wan walk away, unease still filling his being.

...

Obi-Wan found Cerasi examining a piece of stone at the campsite and sat down across from her. "What do you have there?"

Cerasi handed the stone to him. "I found it in a cave. It has some hieroglyphics on it but I have only been able to decipher half of it."

"It looks like part of the stone has been broken. Where's the other half?"

Cerasi shrugged. "I checked the surrounding area but that was the only piece I could find." She scooted over to his side and pointed to two of the first hieroglyphics. "The first two are Melida and Daan. On my planet we have two classes of people: Melida being the ruling class and the Daan being the working class. These symbols are still very well known among my people."

Obi-Wan rubbed his thumb over the black symbols. He could sense vague imprints various individuals had left on the stone over the years before it was forgotten. "It's a unity stone, isn't it?"

Cerasi's eyes widened in surprise. "How did, what made you think that?"

"Lucky guess." Obi-Wan said, his eyes sparkling as he smiled at her.

"The next two symbols I think is strength and peace but there is an odd squiggle at the end of them that may or may not change the meaning. The rest of the hieroglyphics that are missing is supposed to have the name of one Melida and one Daan."

"Does the system work? I mean, having a ruling class and a working class?" Obi-Wan asked, handing the stone back to her.

Cerasi tucked the rock into a pocket of her tunic and looked at Obi-Wan. "Not always. Every so often a war will break out, resulting a redefining of boundaries and then everyone will be happy for a time and then another war will break out. Our last war almost destroyed our world, but an outsider came and reestablished peace."

Obi-Wan sensed the sorrow she buried deep inside her, the hurt, but also a flame of hope and determination.

Cerasi looked away from him and gazed at the land ahead of them. "The outsider showed us a new way and now we are slowly rebuilding our world. A colony on another world will ease the burden on our resources. Not only that but this planet can reveal our past history that has been lost and forgotten over time."

Obi-Wan placed his hand on top of hers and gently squeezed them. "I will help you, you have my word on it."

A small smile graced her lips as she looked back at him. "Thank you."

"If you two are done, we got things to do before nightfall." Xanatos said, dropping the bag that contained the tent in front of them. "I'm going to set up the perimeter alarms."

Obi-Wan pulled the bag towards them and unzipped it.

"He doesn't like me, does he?" Cerasi asked as she helped Obi-Wan remove the tent poles from the bag.

"Oh, he's just being an over protective big brother." Obi-Wan took the tent poles and began arranging them on the ground. "Where are you camping? Or are you staying aboard your ship?"

"My campsite is in a cave about a mile up the mountain." Cerasi said as she helped hammer the poles into the ground.

Obi-Wan wiped the sweat off his face with the sleeve of his tunic and then picked up another pole. "Have you seen much wildlife up there?"

Cerasi gave one more swing of her hammer on top of the pole she was working on and then rotated a knob that would anchor the rod into the soil by shooting out metal wires with hooks on the end of them into the soil. "Several. Most of them have been night creatures."

"You're quite familiar with the design of this tent." Obi-Wan observed.

"The outsider had some supplies on her ship that had tents like these in the cargo hold. She taught us how we can make more of them so that those without homes could have better shelters." Cerasi answered. "My people prefer to remain isolated from the rest of the galaxy, but there were some who felt that maybe we did need help."

"Are things better now for your people?" Obi-Wan asked.

"There are many wounds that need healing. It will take time. Many are still homeless, orphans, and lacking food, water, and clothing." Cerasi said, tears brimming her eyes.

Obi-Wan walked over to her and hugged her, holding her against him as the tears fell.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Obi-Wan woke to the sound of birds chirping outside the tent and, instead of getting up, he closed his eyes and thought back to the events of the past day. Xanatos was still irritated at him when they had went to bed, even after Cerasi had left to go to her own campsite.

He stretched out his senses to gauge Xanatos' mood but got nothing. Filling his lungs with air, he slowly let it all out and then got up. The day was going to begin whether he liked it or not.

Dressing into some fresh clothes, Obi-Wan left the tent and approached Xanatos who was drinking a cup of tea. "Good morning."

"Good morning." Xanatos answered, his face betraying nothing as he continued to sip at his tea.

Seeing that nothing more was forthcoming, Obi-Wan went about the process of fixing his breakfast. It wasn't until Obi-Wan had finished eating when Xanatos spoke.

"Qui-Gon sent his response early this morning…" Xanatos paused, swirling the last bit of tea in his mug. "He says he trusts your judgment on the matter but wants you to stay vigilant." Xanatos drank the last sip of his now cold tea and then placed the mug on the ground in front of him. "Obi-Wan, trouble seems to follow you on missions. I trust you understand my concerns."

"Yes sir, I do understand but I am not a little kid anymore, I'm almost 18 years old!" Obi-Wan responded and stood up to go get his things for the hike. "Cerasi and I are going to explore some ruins she found. I'll get some samples of the plant life and make notes of any wildlife we see."

"Very well. Make sure you take a comlink with you and report every three hours." Xanatos told him. "Be back here before nightfall."

"Yes sir," Obi-Wan replied as he grabbed a couple of food ration bars.

When Obi-Wan arrived at the hot water spring he had discovered the previous day, he found Cerasi already there waiting for him.

"Ready to go?" Cerasi asked, pulling her own pack onto her back as she stood up.

"Yep. Let's get moving." Obi-Wan responded, a grin on his face.

Cerasi smiled back at him and began to lead the way. "There is a pass that we have to travel through in order to get into the valley. There are no hot springs in that area but the temperature is mildly warm and there are several large bogs. You'll be able to see some mountain ranges. This is the only mountain that has hot springs in the area. I think the ruins right on the edge of the valley and the mountain was a retreat of some sort from the winter weather."

"How long have you been exploring here?" Obi-Wan asked.

"About two weeks." Cerasi answered. She stopped walking and held a hand up for silence. Ahead of them there was some movement in a group of red leafed bushes with yellow vines entangled in them with no pattern. A small gray creature, about the size of a tea kettle, emerged from the bushes. Its long bushy tail whipping up and down and its black noise sniffing the air.

A screech came from above as a large red bird, about three feet in length, swooped down and snatched the animal before it could recover from its shock and dart back into the safety of the bushes.

"That bird was huge!" Obi-Wan exclaimed.

Cerasi nodded. "I've seen even bigger ones higher up the mountain. You'll see a lot more of them the closer we get to the valley."

"How long will it take to get to the ruins?" Obi-Wan asked as they continued on.

"Three, maybe four, hours." Cerasi told him. "What is your home planet like?"

"I was born on Leris 4 and was raised by my uncle and aunt after my parents died when I was four. The place where I grew up was an active volcanic area. The people were very scattered and the nearest neighbor was two hours away by foot unless one had a riding animal. When it wasn't cloudy, rainy, and windy, it would get really hot outside but at night it would get cold. My aunt taught me as much as she could in subjects like reading, writing, math, and history. When I was seven years old some outsiders came to my home-planet and offered me a chance to further my education beyond what my aunt and uncle could teach me." Obi-Wan responded.

"Wow, there were no cities?" Cerasi asked in amazement.

Obi-Wan shook his head. "None."

They walked in companionable silence, listening to the distant sounds of animals.

"There are many cities on my home-planet but they have fallen into disrepair and the plant life has overtaken some of them. The filth in some of the cities is so bad that many have been abandoned and quarantined. I never knew my mother and my father was so busy commanding his army that I feel like I hardly knew him. I joined the young resistance when I was eleven, a large group of orphans that wanted the war to end. I was thirteen when the outsider came to our planet." Cerasi glanced at Obi-Wan and their eyes made contact briefly. Cerasi looked away as they made their way between some large boulders. "Are you doing the survey for a class?"

Obi-Wan pressed his lips together in a thin line as he thought of the best way to respond. "It's more of a requirement then a class. I get free education but I have to do a job for them in return. Any information we discover is given to the historian who compiles it and then if a teacher wants some new material in his class then he can go to the library and find some new material. Our historian has a great interest in the outer rim planets and the unknown regions. Many have not ventured into the unknown regions."

"This historian sounds like a very interesting person." Cerasi commented.

Obi-Wan chuckled. "She is. She rules the library and has no sense of humor. Anyone in her domain had better be on their best behavior or they would be on the receiving end of a very intense glare and if the behavior is not corrected they would be kicked out of the library and be banned from it for a week."

Cerasi smiled, "I would like to meet her. What planet did you say the school is on?"

"Is that the pass?" Obi-Wan asked, pointing up the trail where the trail became bordered by two large stone walls.

"Yes, it is. We got here faster than I anticipated."

"Well, you have company this time." Obi-Wan responded and reached up to scratch an itch on his neck. "Let's take a break for a little while. I want to gather some samples for Xanatos."

"Sure." Cerasi found a rock big enough to sit on, put her pack on the ground and began searching her pack for her water canteen.

Obi-Wan put his own pack down and stretched before roaming the area, collecting various dirt and plant samples. He examined the bare wall of the pass, running his hand over the smoothness. A river must have run through this area at one time or the walls of the pass were smoothed by a worker of stone. He bent down and brushed some weeds away from the stone. What he saw made his blood run cold.

Sucking in air, he forced himself to breath. With trembling hands, Obi-Wan reached into his cloak pocket and pulled out his datapad to take a picture of his find.

"Are you all right Obi-Wan?" Cerasi called, watching him from the rock she occupied while drinking water out of her canteen.

Licking dry lips, Obi-Wan answered. "I'm fine. It's nothing." He rubbed his thumb across the markings, markings that were freshly cut.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

After they had reached the ruins, Obi-Wan excused himself to contact Xanatos. Once he was far enough away where Cerasi could not overhear, Obi-Wan flipped open his comm. and typed in Xanatos' personal code.

"Xanatos here."

Obi-Wan kept his senses tuned to where Cerasi was and looked at the datapad he had pulled out of his cloak. "Xanatos, has there been any reports of Sith alchemy use in the past century to present?"

Silence fell on the other end of the comlink. "There has been no activity in that area. In fact its been about a millennium since any Sith alchemy projects have been reported….Why do you ask?"

"I have found evidence that there is a Sith alchemy project on this planet." Obi-Wan stated.

Silence fell again on the comm. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. I am going to see what else I can find out. If the True Sith were here then they may have forced Cerasi's people off of the planet." Obi-Wan responded. "I'll report more later and we can meditate on my findings tonight."

"Very well, I'll see what I'm able to find too. Be careful, Obi-Wan." Xanatos replied and the comm. beeped as the call was disconnected.

Tucking his comlink back on his belt and putting the datapad away, Obi-Wan headed over to Cerasi who was busy clearing some overgrowth away from one of the ruined buildings. "The plants are very thick here. How did you manage to find the ruins without walking past them?"

Cerasi looked over her shoulder and smiled at him. "Lucky I guess."

Obi-Wan toured the ruins, noting how the vine infested buildings all looked like they could still be whole. It was as if the place had been smothered by the plants instantaneously. Obi-Wan shook his head of the thought, he was letting his imagination run away from him.

Brushing aside some vines, Obi-Wan found a door to one of the buildings. He tried turning the knob but it resisted. Checking behind him to make sure Cerasi wasn't near. He used the Force to unlock the locking mechanism and he gently, but firmly pushed the metal door open.

Taking out a small portable light from his belt, he shone it inside the building before venturing inside.

The walls and floor were covered with red moss and there an old stench in the air. The hairs on the back of Obi-Wan's neck prickled as he moved toward one of the mounds in the room and then with his free hand grabbed some of the moss and pulled it away. His heart skipped a beat as he saw a skeleton hand resting on what may have at one time been a desk.

His stomach tightened and he continued to go through the entire level of the building. By the time he was done he exited the building as pale as a ghost.

"Obi-Wan?" Cerasi ran up to him and noted the open door of the building. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine." Obi-Wan said, managing a weak smile.

"You got the door open." Cerasi stepped toward the doorway but Obi-Wan stepped in from of her, his back to the door.

"You don't want to go in there." Obi-Wan stated.

Cerasi glared at him. "Thanks for the warning, now move aside."

Obi-Wan stepped out of her way and followed her inside after a moment's hesitation. As Obi-Wan had done, Cerasi gave the room a quick look over, her eyes settling on the partially revealed skeleton.

"Is this what you didn't want me to see?" Cerasi asked in disgust. "My planet was a battlefield, remember!"

Obi-Wan grimaced. "Yes but that's not…"

Cerasi didn't let him finished and stormed to a door that led to another part of the building.

Obi-Wan waited where he was to allow her time to discover what it was he didn't want her to see. A few seconds passed and then there was a scream. He headed after her and found Cerasi, running out of the room she had gone into, almost colliding into him in the hallway.

"Whoa, slow down." Obi-Wan said, steadying her back onto her feet.

"That thing in there is alive!" She shrieked and pulled away from him to continue toward the exit.

Obi-Wan's eyes narrowed. "Alive?" He looked at the doorway where she had come and his hand went for his lightsaber only to remember that he had left it in the tent. "But I didn't sense anything from it?" He slowly approached the room, using the Force to enhance his hearing. There was definitely movement coming from inside the room.

Coming to a stop near the doorway, Obi-Wan shone his light inside the room and slowly entered. The beds were still undisturbed, the gel that enclosed its occupants unmoving. He avoided looking inside the gel enclosure, having seen enough to know that something horrific had happened here.

Focus. Obi-Wan told himself and continued deeper into the room where the metal cage was that contained the remains of the creature. He shone the light into the cage and found it empty except for some spots of blood. He looked on the floor and found a red streak heading away from the cage.

Carefully Obi-Wan followed the trail, the drops of blood growing bigger and bigger until he came to a body. He moved copper hair away from the source of the blood and fresh blood trickled down the neck.

Obi-Wan's stomach clenched, his mind went numb with dread as he turned the body over and saw pale green accusing eyes staring up at him. "Cerasi?" A deafening roar sounded from behind him and before he could identify the danger he was knocked hard into the ground, sharp claws piercing his skin.

Darkness filled his vision and then…nothing.

Pain. That was the first thing that came to his mind as he woke. His back was on fire. He groaned and then grimaced as something that felt like acid dripped onto his wounds.

"Hold…worse…move."

He struggled to make out the words but his ears were still ringing and his head was pounding like a ton of Banthas on a stampede. Slowly the events came back to him through his muddled brain.

More liquid was dripped onto his wounds, the agony of it clearing his mind. "Cerasi!" He yelled, his eyes snapped open and he scrambled to his feet despite the pain.

"I'm being as gentle as I can! Sit down Obi-Wan, I need to finish bandaging you up."

Obi-Wan froze, thunderstruck, and looked where the voice was coming from and saw Cerasi, alive and well, sitting on the ground with a bottle of blue stuff and a wad of cloth, red with blood in her hands. "You're alright?"

"Of course I am. I'm not the one who got in that bird's way. Now sit down!" Cerasi said, her tone firm and final.

Obi-Wan carefully sat down, mindful of the wounds on his back. Bewildered, he examined his surroundings carefully, being careful not to move his back. The ruins stood in the distance, but something was off. "Cerasi, what happened?" He hissed as she pressed a bandage onto one of his wounds and taped it to him.

"You tell me. You went to make a report to Xanatos and I went to find you to see what was taking you so long, I saw you get attacked by the bird, but you didn't move, it was like you were in a trance or something." Cerasi told him.

Obi-Wan frowned and stood back up despite Cerasi's protests. He set off at a run toward the ruins, searching for the building he had entered. He found the site where the building was, or had been. Obi-Wan stared at the spot in confusion. All that remained of the building, if the building had indeed sat there, were blackened stones sticking up out of the ground.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

The rest of the day passed uneventfully. They discovered some more hieroglyphics and some pottery fragments. The ruins were easily entered and were filled with creepy crawlies, broken stones, pollen, and dust. By early afternoon they set off back to Obi-Wan's camp.

Obi-Wan scratched his left shoulder where an insect had bit him and reminded himself to bring an extra tunic with him next time. His other tunic had been cut open so that Cerasi could tend the wounds on his back.

"Are you alright? You haven't been very talkative since the bird attacked you." Cerasi asked.

"I'm fine, just thinking." Obi-Wan said turning his head to give her a small smile. "Do your people have stories they like to tell? Legends?"

Cerasi shook her head. "No. Fantasy doesn't mix well with war."

"Not even to ease the mind a bit?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Does this have anything to do with what's bothering you?" Cerasi responded.

"I don't know. Maybe. It's silly I know. Before I left my home-planet my uncle would tell me stories of legendary creatures and people. I suppose these stories were meant to keep me from being bored and he always told me these stories were not real but in my young mind I felt there was a grain of truth in the stories, perhaps a secret message." Obi-Wan answered.

"Even if I knew of any myths, it would be like searching for a needle in a haystack, to find a truth in a myth." Cerasi brushed a stray strand of hair back behind her ear.

Obi-Wan shrugged his shoulders, wincing as the movement pulled at his wounds. "Yes, but it would be something."

"You think something major happened to force all my people off of this planet?" Cerasi asked.

"I'm not sure yet, I'm going to need more proof before I can answer that. Hopefully we can recover some manuscripts that may help us." Obi-Wan responded and swatted at a bug that had landed on his arm.

As they walked under some low hanging branches, Obi-Wan felt a flash of warning from behind him and spun around, eyes searching for the source. Casting out with the Force, Obi-Wan tried to pinpoint where the danger was but what ever it was had gone.

"What is it?" Cerasi asked.

"Nothing…I thought I heard something." Obi-Wan responded, turning back around and continued walking. The feeling continued to nag at him, but whenever he sought the Force for an answer there was none to be found. He slapped at a bug that was biting at his back and froze. His pack, where was it? "Cerasi, do you know what I did with my pack?" Getting no answer he turned around, searching for her. "Cerasi!"

The hairs on the back of his neck prickled and he swallowed hard. Unhooking his comlink from his belt, he tapped in Xanatos' comm. frequency. The only response he got was static. Reaching out with the Force he sought Xanatos' presence. Not finding him, he reached further where his Master orbited the planet and again sensed nothing. _Master! _He called through his bond but all was silent.

He sat down on the ground and closed his eyes, drawing the Force to him as he centered himself and cleared the worry from his mind. The currents of the Force were tainted, sluggish… He knew no more as darkness took him.

...

Silence, so deafening in a hollow cavern that a single drip of water echoed in the cavern. The walls of the cavern were polished smooth like glass an in the walls were natural phosphorescence crystalline materials that created a greenish glow that pushed back the darkness. Stalactites hung from the ceiling in various shapes and sizes, pointing down to the barren ground that held only a pool of water in the center of the cavern. Footsteps boomed in the chamber and the bats among the stalactites were momentarily roused from their slumber and then were still again. A sound like a fountain came from the pool and the surface of the pool broke as a being rose up from it.

"He is here as you have ordered, Master."

"Ah, splendid. He will be a fine specimen." Water sloshed as the being moved forward through the water and he handed the person a palm sized globe with white specks floating in a misty red substance. "You know what to do with this."

The person put the globe gently into the pocket of their cloak and bowed to the being before departing.

...

Obi-Wan opened his eyes to find himself staring up at a rocky ceiling. There was a green glow in the air and the air smelled musty. He moved his arms to push himself up and met resistance. Looking at his right arm he saw that he was strapped to a table. His eyes narrowed and he attempted to manipulate the strap with the Force to free himself. The strap gave way easily and Obi-Wan did the same to the straps on his other arm and then proceeded to free his feet.

The Force rang in warning just as he got the last strap undone and he leaped forward into the air to the other side of the cave. Spinning around, he faced the threat. "Who are you?" Obi-Wan asked the tall hooded being.

The hooded person did not speak and instead moved forward and withdrawing a globe of swirling mist from its pocket.

Not waiting to find out what the hooded person intended to do with the globe, Obi-Wan made a dash to the doorway the hooded person had come in through. He emerged into a rocky corridor and took off to the left. He cast his senses out, searching for Cerasi's presence and for any hostiles. The further he got down the corridor, the more unsettled the Force became.

Obi-Wan slowed to a halt and checked behind him to see if he was being followed. There was no sound of anyone approaching, but the way he had come from reeked of danger. He frowned as he finally located Cerasi's presence. He took off at a run in the direction he had come in, passing by the room he had been held captive in. He soon found himself facing a doorway in the corridor. He stepped back and used the Force to open the door. He sensed only Cerasi's presence in the room, but still the Force was throbbing in warning. "Cerasi."

"Obi-Wan?" Cerasi's groggy voice responded.

Obi-Wan entered the room and found Cerasi strapped to a table like he had been. He quickly began to remove the straps, his warning sense growing.

"Obi-Wan, what happened? Where are we?" Cerasi asked as Obi-Wan finished undoing the straps.

"We're in some sort of cave, we need to get moving quickly." Obi-Wan offered his hand to her and she accepted it and got off the table. They started for the entrance and froze to see a hooded person standing in the doorway, holding the same globe Obi-Wan had seen earlier.

The hooded person spoke in an alien language and something pulled at Obi-Wan and Cerasi from behind. Obi-Wan used the Force to push them back away from the wall they were being pulled toward. The air filled with pressure from the contest and Obi-Wan's face contorted from the strain.

The hooded person walked forward, holding up the globe and when he was within a foot away he cracked open the globe toward them and the mist flew at them.

Obi-Wan's connection to the Force faltered just as they stopped being pulled toward the wall and they crumpled to the ground. The mist hovered over their heads, slowly being breathed in by their unconscious forms.


End file.
